Chris Froome
Chris Froome
Christopher Clive Froome, OBEis a British professional road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam Team Sky, who competed for Kenya until 2008. Thrice a winner of the Tour de France, and twice second in the Vuelta a España, he is seen as one of the most successful stage-racing riders of the recent era. Froome, who was brought up in Kenya and South Africa, has ridden under a British licence since 2008 on the basis that both his parents are English...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionCyclist
Date of Birth20 May 1985
CityNairobi, Kenya
I certainly feel I'm carrying the flag for Britain. I feel an honour in that but, at the same time, knowing my roots are in Africa, I'd like that to help motivate people from there. Even coming from a third world country, it is possible to get to the top of wherever they want to be.
I wouldn't recommend people to go up and ride their road bikes in Kenya. Bikes are not meant to be on the roads. But the mountain biking is fantastic. You can go right up into the tea and coffee plantations up in the highlands. You can descend the great Rift Valley.
In sport you always think the strongest guy should be going for it and getting the best results. The thing is, cycling also has a very important team aspect, which I don't think that a lot of people fully grasp.
I know Im British. I havent spent much time in the U.K., but my parents are British, my family heritage is British, so if I wasnt British, what would I be? I am British.
Unfortunately this is the legacy that has been handed to us by the people before us, people who have won the Tour only to disappoint fans a few years later, if this is part of the process we have to go through to get the sport to the better place, obviously I'm here, I'm doing it.
I've got a little boy coming and I can't wait. It's going to be the biggest thing that has happened to me in my life so far. Bigger than any Tour de France win.